Ultraman Taro: The Movie
Ultraman Taro: The Movie, known in Japan as'' Ultraman Story'' (ウルトラマン物語(ストーリー) Urutoraman Sutōrī) is a 1984 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Koichi Takano and produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The English-language adaptation is produced by Funimation Productions and Saban Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2009 in English-speaking countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Summary The film centers around Ultraman Taro (the main protagonist of the film) growing up, and wanting to join the Ultra Brothers in battle. His family, however, thinks he is too young. Using his newly developed fighting skills and techniques from his training, Taro eventually proves himself after saving his five brothers from the evil Grand King, a monster created by Juda. Plot (English Version) The films opens in the Land of Lights on Planet Ultra (Nebula M78) with young Ultraboy Taro training. Taro throws a rock into the air and try to hit it with his specium energy beam. After his failed attempts, he succeeded to do so. Meanwhile, on Earth, the monster Tyrant is terrorizing the home planet of the humans, which is badly frozen in solid ice under his spell. But that's when Ultraman Zoffy, the eldest of the Ultra Brothers and Space Patrolman of all Ultra, appear to fight him. A few weeks after Zoffy destroyed Tyrant, breaking his curse and de-frosting the Earth, another monster, Antlar, awakens and began his destructive sight on the kingdom of Baradhi. Sent by Zoffy, Ultraman arrives to battle, thus marking the second Ultra warrior to defend Earth. After a long battle at the point that his Color Timer is blinking its warning signal of his time limit and solar energy, Ultraman eventually killed Antlar with his Specium Ray before flying out of Earth's atmosphere. Even a year later, the third Ultra Brother, Ultraseven, fights an armored knight-type alien Borg on a world-domination assignment. Seven manages to kill Borg instantly by beheading him with his Eye Slugger. Back on Planet Ultra, as his training continues, Taro attempted to fly just like his older brothers, but falls back on the ground. He is then taunted by Dokkun who came out from behind the rocks, angering him. The two of them come to a scuffle, and this caused the annoyed monster to run the Ultraboy up a cliff. Ultrawoman Mary, Taro's mother, soon arrives and puts a stop to the fight. Taro and Dokkun make up, and the friendly monster leaves. Taro's father, Ultraman Ken, arrives and the two explain to Taro that not all monsters are bad, and shows Taro stock footage of Eleking vs. Miclas. They take him into space and give him inspirational speeches. Taro later trains more and grows into a new Ultraman, battling flying saucers in space. He lets his guard down, resulting him to be hit by a blast from one of the saucers, just as Ken flew up to him. Both the Ultra father and son talk while Ultraman Jack battles Twin Tail and Gudon on Earth. Somewhere on Earth, Ace, another Ultraman and adoptive son of Ken and Mary, destroys Yapool's monster Zemistlar too. Back in space, Ken tells Taro he must take his training more seriously before departing. He flies up with Mary watching him. They talk about Taro as he trains. When Taro gets back, he watches the story of Ultraseven. He then practices Ultra Psychokinesis. Ken arrives and explains to him how to use the skill which he completes successfully. The two then watch the story of Ultraman Jack and the other Ultra Brothers while he continues the training. The next day, while training out in space, Taro gets an Ultra Sign message from Ken. He goes to his father, who tells him it is time for him to go to Earth. Then they watch Mefilas vs. Ultraman, and it shows how Mefilas said he'd return to control Earth. Eleking awakens, transformed and controlled by the alien as another attempt to take over the most beautiful planet. Taro flies to Earth in his travel sphere and destroys the monster by ripping off his horns as his weakness. The next day, Mefilas reppears to start destroying the Earth, but Ultraman Taro also returns and opposses him. Taro soon finishes the fight by running through Mefias' body with a punch and dissolving him to his death with his newly introduced attack, the Storium Ray. However, when Taro comes back home, Ken told his son that his training is not over; he must also learn Ultraman Leo and Ultraman 80's techniques. After his training, he then takes a sleep in a light shower which he used to replenish his solar energy. Taro had a strange nightmare, in which a mysterious foe, be it monster or alien, threatens him. Ken is disturbed upon this upon being told to him by Taro, and tells him to begin his final training: absorbing his energy beam. If he can, he will become a Super Ultraman. On Earth, 80 was battling Baltan. Tossed into the air and into his spaceship, Baltan is destroyed along with it, but not before he calls out "Juda!". Back on the Land of Lights, Ken and Taro are still training when they get 80's Ultra Sign. Ken releazes that Juda has returned. When Taro asks about him, he reveals he fought Juda 50,000 years ago, and that he was born from the distortions of space. In order to defeat him Father had to drive away the distortions. He says that the only reason he had enough energy for that was because of the training of his dad. The now-revived Juda appears in space, and in an effort to have revenge on the Ultra race, he sends Hipporito to attack Earth. Ace engages him, but he could finish Hipporito, the ruthless alien traps him in a glass pipe-like chamber and turns him to jade stone. Seven, Ultraman, Zoffy and Jack arrive and confront Hipporito after finding the frozen Ace, but despite their best efforts, they are met with the same fate in their jade stone prison. On the Land of Lights, Taro is almost done with absorbing Ken's energy beam when Mary came in and brings news of the Ultra Brothers' demise to Hipporito. Ken leaves to Earth, telling Taro he still has to finish the rest of his training and asking Mary to take over his place. Finally arriving and blasting Hipporito asside, Ken returns the unconscious Ace back to his old self and fights Hipporito, but he soon getting beaten and weakened by Hipporito. After realizing he almost lose all of his energy just to train Taro, Ken sacrifices himself to revive Ace by ripping off his Color Timer and transferring his remaining strength into Ace's timer. Now restored with enough power, Ace destroys Hipporito and revives his brothers. Finding their father injured but still alive, they take him back to space for their journey back to Planet Ultra. Taro manages to absorb Mary's beam and successfully completes his training. Later, Mary and the six Ultra Brothers watch Ken rest with a new Color Timer implanted on his chest in a healing glass chamber to restore his energy, and Taro angrily curses Juda for almost having his father killed. Pleased with the now-destroyed Hipporito for taking down Ken, Juda began his plan to eliminate the Planet Ultra. But when he learned that Taro has powered up and seemed stronger, he sends out Enmargo to Earth in order to lure him. While Taro went to Earth to fight Enmargo in an effort to avenge Ken, the sinister Juda then summons another greater monster, Grand King. The Ultra Brothers see him coming and lure him to another planet, Ferant, which is once a beautiful green planet with civilization and now ruined by Juda. While the Ultra Brothers are completely decimated by Grand King, the healing Ken awakens and says Taro is the only one able to defeat it. Using telepathy, Mary tells Taro about this and he defeats Enmargo before he flies to the aid of his brothers. With an Ultra Sign, Mary then tells them they must channel their energy into Taro's horns. They do so, fusing with Taro into a Super Ultraman. In this form, Taro easily defeats the monster and Juda forcibly vanishes, never to be seen again. Taro and the fellow Ultra Brothers return back to the Ultra Star where the now-recovered Ken and Mary are waiting. Grateful to Mary and their sons for the amazing power they's shown, Ken nominate Taro to join the other Ultra Brothers after warning him that Juda will return with more distortions that will spread throughout the many galaxies and to create more monsters. The film ends with the six Ultra Brothers flying off into space to continue fighting for justice and peace of the universe. Then in the credits, a normal sized boy walks in front of the camera and smiles, saying Nirto Man Forever. Cast Voice Actors Japanese Version * Hiroya Ishimaru as Ultraman Taro ** Masako Nozawa as Ultraman Taro (child) * Tarō Ishida as Father of Ultra * Masako Ikeda as Mother of Ultra * Hiroshi Inada Kaoru as Zoffy * Kenyu Horiuchi as Ultraman * Shigeharu Matsuda as Ultraseven * Masayuki Komuro as Ultraman Jack and Ultraman 80 * Hiroshi Sato as Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Leo * Yoshio Kaneuchi as the Narrator English Version * Kyle Hebert as Ultraman Taro ** Stephanie Nadolny as Ultraboy Taro * Christopher Sabat as Ultraman Ken, Juda, Twin Tail * Mona Marshall as Ultrawoman Mary * Dave Mallow as Ultraman Zoffy * Sean Schemmel as Ultraman * John Burgmeier as Ultraseven * Kirk Thornton as Ultraman Jack * Steve Blum as Ultraman Ace, Dokkun * Kevin Conroy as Ultraman Leo * Loren Lester as Ultraman 80 * Brice Armstrong as Mephilas * Michael Sorich as Borg * Derek Stephen Prince as Baltan * Mark Hamill as Hipporito * Chris Rager as Enmargo * Shane Ray as Grand King, Tyrant, Antlar, Eleking, Miclas, Gudon, Zemistlar * Doc Morgan as Narrator Notes: In both the Japanese and English versions, Masao Nakasone portrayed the stock grunts and yells of Ultraman, Ultraman Zoffy, Ultraseven, Ultraman Jack and Ultraman Ace. In both the extended Japanese and English versions, more scenes from select episodes of the first six Ultraman TV shows that are deleted and edited for the film were brought back along with some stock grunts for Ultraman Taro by original actor Saburo Shinoda will be featured, along with more grunts from the first five Ultra Brothers and even the deep-voiced grunts of Father of Ultra by Masao Nakasone. The English dubbed version of the film is the final appearance by Brice Armstrong, who is known as the Narrator, Captain Ginyu and Lord Slug in the Dragon Ball anime franchise. Staff * Production notes Trivia * The film is set in between the events of Ultraman, Ultraseven, The Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo and Ultraman 80. Music Insert Songs (in the Extended Cut English and Japanese Versions) # Ultraman (theme) # Ultraseven (theme) # The Return of Ultraman (theme) (Known in the English-Dubbed Extended Cut Version as Ultraman Jack) # Ultraman Ace (theme) # The Song of Taro # Ultraman Taro (theme) # Ultraman Leo (theme) # Ultraman 80 (theme) Category:Ultraman Category:Ultra Seven Category:The Return of Ultraman Category:Ultraman Ace Category:Ultraman Taro Category:Ultraman Leo Category:Ultraman 80 Category:Ultraman movies Category:Tokusatsu films Category:Kaiju films Category:Superhero films Category:Tsuburaya Productions Category:Japanese films Category:Warner Bros. Pictures Category:Funimation Entertainment Category:Saban Capital Group Category:English-Dubbed films